PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Five Pakistani Army soldiers reportedly have been killed during an attack on their military convoy on the outskirts of Peshawar, the capital of the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal reports the attack came late on June 19 near Matani, a village that is an important road link between Peshawar and remote tribal areas.

Bahram Khan, commander at the Matani police station, told RFE/RL that the soldiers were on a routine patrol when they were ambushed by armed militants.

He said four of the attackers also were killed, but the militants managed to escape with their bodies.

Ehsanullah Ehsan, a self-proclaimed Taliban spokesman, told RFE/RL’s correspondent in Peshawar that the attack was revenge for the killing of Taliban leader Wali Rahman last month in a drone strike in North Waziristan.